The cherry blossom's despair
by EijiPanda10
Summary: When Naruto returns from sage training, Sakura finally comes to realize that she loves Naruto. But she is no longer his priority. Fearing that her feelings will not be returned any longer, she turns to Hinata for help.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is my original story, influenced by the Naruto anime. I have not copied another writer's submission. This submission is strictly for fun and not to be sold or used for any other purposes other than enjoyment.

AN: This is my first fic, written a long time ago. I revised it and hopefully it sounds wonderful. I will continue adding new chapters. It may get more erotic in later chapters, but for now it's rated T.

Sakura rushed towards the bath house. Lady Tsunadae had put her through rigorous training and she could not wait to relax in the warm water. When Sakura arrived, she almost fell against a locker, while removing her tights. Sakura had been anxious in training. She was anticipating coming to the baths the entire morning. Once she'd finished changing, Sakura ran out into the open air bath and cannon balled into the water.

When she had resurfaced, Sakura saw Hinata, poised in the water facing the opposite direction. It appeared that Hinata was practicing a weird water jutsu. Or maybe it as something else, but Sakura's gaze didn't leave Hinata for a moment. She was astounded by Hinata's ability. When Hinata turned around and realized Sakura had been watching, she fell backward into the water. Sakura swam over to help her.

"Wow that was beautiful. I didn't know you were that advanced" Sakura said with her face beaming.

"Oh, don't kid me. Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba are already jonin. Even Ino is more advanced than me. I'm not really that great" Hinata replied in a mousy voice.

Sakura frowned. She felt she paled in comparison to Hinata. "What are you talking about? Your taijutsu is amazing." Sakura exclaimed. Hinata blushed and averted her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time someone had complimented her. "You have always been great Sakura. You have the best chakra control. And you are even Lady Tsunadae's student. I'm just beginning to gain strength and courage like you." Hinata replied, still blushing.

Sakura and Hinata had been watching each other closely ever since they started medical ninja training. Shizune was over the kunoichis' medical training. Hinata's byakugan and Sakura's strength complimented each other well, so they were often paired for missions. "You're such a silly goose" Sakura said as she splashed water on Hinata. "Hey!" Hinata yelled. Hinata smacked the water, splashing water all over Sakura. "You're going to get it now!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing Hinata and dragging her under the water. Hinata struggled, getting one arm free. She used it to tickle Sakura's stomach who loosened her grip. Hinata used the opportunity to escape Sakura's grasp, and poke her head above the water in order to catch her breath. Sakura did the same.

Hinata caught her breath first and grabbed Sakura's wrists. Hinata giggled as she wrapped her legs around Sakura's torso and pull her under the water. Sakura squirmed out of Hinata's hold and tackled her. Sakura swam behind Hinata, grabbing her waist, and pulling her back. Hinata kicked and waved her arms, but she couldn't get out of Sakura's strong hold. Sakura became distracted by Hinata's firm butt brushing against her pelvis. Sakura tightened her grip on Hinata's waist, noticing how slim it was in comparison to hers. But Hinata bucked against Sakura, causing her to release her grip. Hinata help up both hands and called out truce. She was exhausted from all the rough housing. "That was fun" Hinata said to Sakura, once both girls had calmed down. "You really had me going there" Sakura replied. "You're pretty tough to beat." Sakura said.

Hinata reached her arms back, stretching her muscles. Sakura couldn't help but check out Hinata's figure. Hinata's breasts had grown a lot and were much larger than Sakura's. Hinata's hair was also about the same length Sakura's was before the chunin exams. Sakura was very disappointed at her own body. Her breasts had grown, but weren't melons. And her waist wasn't as slim. Sakura hadn't grown out her hair, but that was her choice. She realized what a burden long hair could be during the chunin exams and kept it short. Sakura stopped focusing on Hinata's attributes and focused on relaxing in the water.

"I'm starving, you wanna grab some lunch?" Sakura asked when she felt her hands getting pruny. Hinata nodded no. "I have to go straight home; my father has some things planned today." Hinata replied. Both girls decided to climb out of the bath. As they entered the locker room, Hinata turned to face Sakura.

"Um, if you don't mind could you not mention seeing me practice my jutsu? It's not perfect and I don't want Lady Tsunadae to think I'm ready for harder missions." Hinata said sheepishly, looking down. Sakura turned to face her with a disappointed expression.

"How could you say that? You're so talented." I mean, even if it's not complete, it's still great."

"I guess you're right." Hinata said with false confidence.

About five minutes later, Sakura left the bath house and went to Ichiraku's Ramen shop. There she ran into Choji. "What! Only vegetables and ramen? Are you dieting? Usually you're eating enough barbeque pork for three people." She slapped Choji on the back. "Well, I'm a little short on cash today. I accidently crushed a shed while practicing my expansion jutsu. Most of my money went to repair it." Choji replied. He made a grimace once he realized Sakura had insulted his weight. Sakura sat down beside Choji and ordered a bowl of spicy pork ramen with extra fishcake. Choji left as Sakura was getting her bowl. He was finishing his fourth bowl of vegetable ramen when she appeared. Sakura lifted a fishcake to her mouth, but only bit into her chopsticks. She heard a giggle and turned to see Hinata standing behind her. She had eaten the fishcake and was smiling at Sakura.

"What are you doing around here?"Sakura asked.

"I have to pick something up from the store before going home" Hinata replied.

"After training tomorrow you owe me" Sakura said with a smile.

"Thank you for the encouragement" Hinata said shyly. "You're welcome" Sakura replied surprised.

Hinata left hurriedly before Sakura could say anything else. After eating another bowl, Sakura walked home in a daze. She had been confused by Hinata's lack of confidence. She thought Hinata was on her way to becoming a chunin. Sakura knew she lacked the self restraint to handle devastating situations without wearing her emotions on her sleeve. She though back to her days as a squad seven genin, the chunin exams, and back to the Forest of Death. She had been helpless to defend her friends against the sound ninja during the chunin exam. And she was torn to pieces when Sasuke left the village for good.

Sakura felt like a failure. S he was still a burden after all her training. When she went to rescue Gaara from the Akatsuki, she held back her comrades during battle because of her emotional instability and indecisiveness. Hinata had a much stronger character then she realized. Because of the internal struggles of her clan, she'd been dealing with turmoil and hardship her entire life and had to handle more responsibility. Hinata just needed someone to help her build her confidence.

Before she realized it, Sakura was standing at her front door. Sakura opened the door and tip-toed in. It was after dark and everyone would be in bed now. Sakura blew out the oil lamp in the living room, where her mom was asleep on the couch again. She slowly undressed and climbed into bed. Frustrated by her faults, she declared to never let her comrades down as she drifted to sleep.

After breakfast and chores the next morning, Sakura decided to leave early and head to the training grounds. She found Hinata, practicing a substitution jutsu. She swiftly ran toward Hinata with a kunai knife, but was blocked upon striking. "I saw you fifty feet away" Hinata said breathlessly. Sakura wasn't surprised that Hinata was using her byakugan. They were joined by Tenten, who had arrived early so she could polish her weapons. The girls chatted about the recent increase in fighting between the hidden villages. Each village was being more sneaky and ruthless as they gathered more jutsu, in order to go up against the Akatsuki. Knowing that he had gained a treasure trove of experience and knowledge from Jaraiya-sama, the girls felt Naruto would become the strongest ninja in the village in no time.

Since Naruto's return to the village, Sakura was starting to see Naruto's charm and was beginning to reciprocate his romantic feelings for her. He had matured and grown in so many ways. She hadn't seen him trick anyone with his sexy jutsu. But she kept her feelings bottled up. She knew all his determination was no longer focused on winning her affection, but towards bringing Sasuke back. She let herself become depressed over the situation when Naruto first returned. She hated the thought of the relationship between her and Naruto remaining an unrequited love. She wasn't sure if Naruto still held the same passionate feelings for her. He hadn't used a sexual come one with her at all.

Shizune sensei showed up, surprisingly ahead of schedule. She was toting a stack of folders; her pig in tow. The girls continued their conversation until the others arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

Shizune sensei led the group to a training camp in the mountains. Upon arriving, they met up with Kurenai sensei and Lady Tsunadae, who was sitting on a tree stump, fanning herself with a large leaf.

Kurenai sensei stepped forward. "Ladies, this session won't be like any of the others. You will have to put your skills to the test in an uncontrolled situation. Some of you will be facing your greatest fears. The danger will be real and so will the wounds." Kurenai exclaimed sternly. She looked at every girl's expression after she finished her speech.

"Let's begin" Kurenai exclaimed, and then she jumped up into the trees and cast an illusion over the area. Teams of ninjas began appearing in various places around the girls. Lady Tsunadae smashed the ground with both arms, causing an earthquake. Tenten and Ino stumbled. Lady Tsunadae ran around the camp, striking the ground, and making mounds of earth shoot up. Sakura quickly side stepped a mound, dodging a powerful blow. But a ninja appeared behind her and hit her with some taijutsu. She fell to the ground, holding her right arm. She looked to her right to see how everyone else was faring.

Hinata was fighting off three more ninjas with a variation of the sixty-four palm technique that Neji had already mastered. Sakura quickly stood to her feet and head butted the ninja in front of her. She tackled him to the ground and took him out with one punch. She spotted a boulder nearby and smashed it into pieces. She began chucking the pieces at a group of ninjas near Ino and Tenten, who were struggling to fight them off. Then Sakura heard a cry. She looked around to see Hinata crouched on the ground holding her left leg. Lady Tsunadae was standing over her. "Nooooooooooo!" Sakura cried out. She smashed the ground, sending a wave of dirt at Lady Tsunadae, who quickly jumped back and dodged it. Sakura threw some kunai knives at her, but all of them missed. She ran towards Hinata and threw a few more kunai in Lady Tsunadae's direction, before grabbing Hinata and heading further into the mountains.

"Are you ok?" She asked Hinata. She could see blood running down the girl's leg. Hinata didn't respond and seemed to be in shock. As Sakura began healing the wound, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back. She turned her head just in time to see Shizune sensei pull out a second poison needle, before passing out. Sakura fought the poison and opened her eyes again. She tried to push herself up, but she was too weak. She fell onto her back. She got a few glimpses of Hinata dodging Shizune's needles. Hinata jumped back, tripping over a tree root. She fell backward into a small creak. She had been hit in the right shoulder with a needle. Then Sakura saw something she'd never seen before. Hinata had a look of complete control and determination on her face. Hinata began using her new water jutsu on Shizune, who seemed shocked as she began retreating.

The next thing Sakura saw was the inside of a medical tent. Hinata was sitting beside her bed, asleep. Sakura had a splitting headache. She noticed that Hinata's leg was bandaged up. She tried to sit up, but her arm still hurt a bit from earlier. She let out a grunt, which woke Hinata. "Nice to see you're awake." Hinata said smiling. "How long was I out?" Sakura asked. "Oh just a few hours. Shizune sensei didn't use a strong poison on her needles, but it was still poison none the less." Hinata said shyly.

"You saved me with your new jutsu, didn't you?" Sakura exclaimed more than she asked. "Yeah, I did. It definitely caught Shizune sensei off guard. I didn't do much, but she was really amazed at my technique." Hinata blushed a little. "She also promised not to tell Lady Tsunadae until I was finished training my technique." Hinata explained. "You've always been strong and smart in my eyes Hinata. I even envy you at times." Sakura said blushing. "You're just trying to make me feel better." Hinata said dejectedly. "No I'm not." Sakura said with a serious tone. "Even though you don't have much self confidence, you don't crack under pressure like I do. You're strong and focused. And a stunning beauty on top of that." Sakura was surprised that that slipped out of her mouth.

Hinata gazed at her with an innocent expression on her face. She grabbed Sakura's hand. "Look, Hinata. All I'm trying to say is you are a strong ninja. You don't have to prove your strength to anyone. You saved my life...though it wasn't in imminent danger per say." Sakura looked down at her blanket. She felt like she'd just told Hinata a secret. "You're strong and beautiful as well Sakura. I've always envied you; the way you are so passionate about everything you do. You put your heart into all your missions and you're unselfish." Hinata replied. Both girls looked at each other. They had never really opened up to one another. They were forging a new bond. Hinata broke the silence. "If you want, I can walk you home." Hinata said shyly. "I'd like that." Sakura replied.


End file.
